2024 College Kickoff Specialist Rankings

Every college football kickoff specialist with enough work in the 2024 regular season (at least 30), ranked by kickoff points added. Each kickoff's expected-points result compared with the league-average kickoff, added up over the season. Onside kicks are left out. It credits the kicker and the coverage team together.

College rule: a kickoff touchback, or a fair catch inside the 25, starts the receiving team at its 25, so a touchback is a good result for the kicking team. Kickoff Points Added accounts for the rule, so it is the fair way to compare kickoff specialists across leagues and seasons.

Final 2024 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

2024 College Leaders

Kickoff Touchback Percentage

Aeron Burrell (LSU): 94% 62 of 66
Buck Buchanan (Louisiana Tech): 93% 51 of 55
Tyler Loop (Arizona): 91% 53 of 58
Caden Davis (Ole Miss): 87% 76 of 87
Tristian Vandenberg (Memphis): 87% 67 of 77

Full Kickoff Touchback Percentage leaderboard

Average Kickoff Return Allowed

Andrew Conrad (East Carolina): 6.2 18 returns
Jayden Fielding (Ohio State): 6.3 18 returns
Blake Ford (North Texas): 6.5 31 returns
Ethan Moczulski (Illinois): 7.5 28 returns
Tommy Doman (Michigan): 7.9 23 returns

Full Average Kickoff Return Allowed leaderboard

Kickoff Points Added

Will Stone (Texas): +14.5 82 kickoffs
Peyton Woodring (Georgia): +12.8 78 kickoffs
Caden Chittenden (UNLV): +12.0 81 kickoffs
Tommy Doman (Michigan): +10.8 60 kickoffs
Kenneth Almendares (Louisiana): +9.5 81 kickoffs

Full Kickoff Points Added leaderboard

Average Kickoff Distance

Aeron Burrell (LSU): 65.0 66 kickoffs
Buck Buchanan (Louisiana Tech): 64.9 55 kickoffs
Carter Davis (Florida Atlantic): 64.7 53 kickoffs
Robert Gunn III (Clemson): 64.6 83 kickoffs
Collin Smith (NC State): 64.4 73 kickoffs

Full Average Kickoff Distance leaderboard

Kickoff Out of Bounds Percentage

Andres Borregales (Miami): 0.0% 0 of 92
Caden Davis (Ole Miss): 0.0% 0 of 87
Garrison Rippa (Jacksonville State): 0.0% 0 of 84
Robert Gunn III (Clemson): 0.0% 0 of 83
Will Stone (Texas): 0.0% 0 of 82

Full Kickoff Out of Bounds Percentage leaderboard

30+ Yard Return Percentage Allowed

Kenneth Almendares (Louisiana): 0.0% 0 of 53
Peyton Woodring (Georgia): 0.0% 0 of 33
Blake Ford (North Texas): 0.0% 0 of 31
Ethan Moczulski (Illinois): 0.0% 0 of 28
Gabriel Plascencia (San Diego State): 0.0% 0 of 28

Full 30+ Yard Return Percentage Allowed leaderboard

All 2024 College Kickoff Specialist Leaderboards

Kickoffs by Points Added

133 kickoff specialists qualify.

Rk	Player	Team	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Will Stone	Texas	82	63.4	71%	23	+14.5
2	Peyton Woodring	Georgia	78	63.7	58%	33	+12.8
3	Caden Chittenden	UNLV	81	64.3	67%	27	+12.0
4	Tommy Doman	Michigan	60	64.1	62%	23	+10.8
5	Kenneth Almendares	Louisiana	81	61.0	35%	53	+9.5
6	Caden Davis	Ole Miss	87	64.4	87%	11	+8.6
7	Kellan McLaughlin	Miami (OH)	56	62.8	61%	22	+8.5
8	Jayden Fielding	Ohio State	64	63.9	72%	18	+8.5
9	Alex Herrera	South Carolina	63	60.5	46%	31	+8.1
10	Eric Goins	Notre Dame	56	60.8	38%	30	+7.9
11	Clayton Amaya	Arkansas State	59	59.4	39%	36	+7.7
12	Chris Freeman	UConn	77	62.8	58%	32	+7.5
13	Aidan Laros	Kentucky	48	63.8	67%	16	+7.5
14	Drew Stevens	Iowa	67	63.5	60%	27	+7.4
15	Trey Coleman	Utah	39	63.1	44%	22	+7.4
16	Robert Gunn III	Clemson	83	64.6	81%	14	+7.3
17	Conor Talty	Alabama	72	63.2	64%	25	+7.1
18	Jack Stone	Baylor	70	62.9	67%	23	+7.1
19	Buck Buchanan	Louisiana Tech	55	64.9	93%	4	+7.1
20	Josh Turbyville	Tennessee	79	63.3	84%	12	+7.0
21	Riley Stephens	Western Kentucky	64	61.3	23%	49	+6.9
22	Tabor Allen	Kansas	70	63.5	77%	16	+6.8
23	John Hoyland	Wyoming	52	64.0	62%	20	+6.7
24	Brendan Franke	Texas State	62	63.3	81%	12	+6.7
25	Andres Borregales	Miami	92	64.0	68%	27	+6.5
26	Will Ferrin	BYU	75	62.9	55%	32	+6.2
27	Ethan Head	Tulane	76	63.3	64%	27	+6.0
28	Nathan Totten	Marshall	38	63.9	71%	11	+6.0
29	Everett Hayes	Oregon State	57	62.7	86%	8	+5.7
30	Simon McClannan	Kansas State	50	63.5	70%	15	+5.6
31	Kyle Lowe	Virginia Tech	69	62.7	57%	29	+5.6
32	Liam Connor	Boston College	46	59.9	33%	31	+5.6
33	Paddy McAteer	Troy	60	64.1	62%	23	+5.5
34	Jack Scullion	Rutgers	59	60.7	46%	32	+5.3
35	Dylan Lynch	Fresno State	59	61.6	51%	29	+5.2
36	Blake Craig	Missouri	67	62.9	73%	18	+5.0
37	Gabriel Nwosu	Penn State	81	63.4	63%	30	+4.8
38	Kyle Lemmermann	TCU	63	61.6	48%	33	+4.8
39	Gavin Lahm	Wisconsin	56	64.2	68%	18	+4.8
40	Ryan Coe	California	57	63.6	70%	16	+4.7
41	Aeron Burrell	LSU	66	65.0	94%	4	+4.4
42	Zach Benedict	Middle Tennessee	30	57.6	20%	16	+4.4
43	Bryan Hansen	Colorado State	58	62.3	45%	32	+4.2
44	Brock Taylor	Vanderbilt	37	63.1	57%	16	+4.1
45	Gavin Stewart	Georgia Southern	66	61.0	53%	31	+4.0
46	Trey Smack	Florida	65	63.3	80%	13	+3.9
47	Reese Burkhardt	Texas Tech	74	61.5	64%	27	+3.9
48	Upton Bellenfant	Buffalo	67	61.3	43%	37	+3.2
49	Atticus Sappington	Oregon	77	64.0	74%	20	+3.2
50	Jared Zirkel	Texas A&M	68	64.1	63%	25	+3.2
51	Rece Verhoff	Marshall	40	63.5	68%	13	+3.1
52	Dragan Kesich	Minnesota	67	62.5	76%	16	+2.9
53	Ethan Moczulski	Illinois	58	62.7	52%	28	+2.9
54	Luke Akers	Northwestern	50	61.9	50%	25	+2.8
55	Wes Pahl	Oklahoma State	33	60.9	48%	17	+2.6
56	Brock Travelstead	Louisville	57	61.3	53%	27	+2.6
57	Collin Smith	NC State	73	64.4	86%	10	+2.4
58	Dean Janikowski	Washington State	48	63.3	56%	21	+2.3
59	Dante Jackson	Akron	50	63.3	64%	18	+2.3
60	Ryan Degyansky	Duke	43	61.0	26%	30	+2.2
61	Ben Falck	Hawai'i	55	57.5	27%	40	+2.1
62	Evan Morris	UCF	38	62.8	53%	18	+2.0
63	Maddux Trujillo	Temple	52	60.3	52%	25	+1.9
64	Lucas Osada	North Carolina	56	63.5	70%	17	+1.8
65	Towns McGough	Auburn	61	63.9	72%	17	+1.8
66	Reed Malphurs	Tulsa	58	60.3	40%	33	+1.8
67	Michael Lantz	USC	71	64.4	73%	19	+1.7
68	Tate Sandell	UTSA	74	63.1	77%	17	+1.7
69	Cristiano Rosa	James Madison	67	62.8	70%	20	+1.6
70	Tristian Vandenberg	Memphis	77	63.9	87%	10	+1.6
71	Max Larson	UL Monroe	50	59.8	24%	38	+1.6
72	Nathan Hawks	Cincinnati	65	61.3	40%	39	+1.4
73	Aidan Birr	Georgia Tech	66	62.1	74%	17	+1.4
74	Lance Gossett	Navy	64	58.6	27%	45	+1.4
75	Reagan Tubbs	Air Force	44	61.1	52%	21	+0.6
76	Ben Sauls	Pittsburgh	75	63.2	77%	15	+0.6
77	Derek McCormick	Indiana	37	58.2	27%	27	+0.6
78	Austin Welch	Kennesaw State	31	60.0	48%	16	+0.6
79	Trey Gronotte	Army	54	59.6	30%	38	+0.5
80	Jack Martin	Houston	39	58.8	38%	22	+0.4
81	Brady Denaburg	Syracuse	72	63.5	82%	13	+0.4
82	Nick Barr-Mira	Mississippi State	43	62.9	77%	10	+0.2
83	Brian Buschini	Nebraska	42	63.1	55%	19	+0.1
84	Logan Ward	Oklahoma State	31	60.1	45%	17	+0.1
85	Devin Bale	Arkansas	68	63.1	63%	25	−0.1
86	Michael Denning	Toledo	54	60.4	30%	38	−0.1
87	Tyler Loop	Arizona	58	62.7	91%	5	−0.2
88	Braeden McAlister	Georgia State	59	63.4	75%	15	−0.2
89	Quinn Warren	Indiana	33	61.2	33%	22	−0.3
90	Zach Schmit	Oklahoma	59	63.0	68%	15	−0.7
91	Ryan Fitzgerald	Florida State	43	63.1	79%	8	−0.9
92	Matthew Killam	Nevada	45	60.5	49%	23	−1.0
93	Mathias Brown	San José State	49	58.2	27%	36	−1.0
94	Enock Gota	Rice	45	64.4	82%	8	−1.1
95	Garrison Rippa	Jacksonville State	84	59.5	33%	56	−1.2
96	Stephen Rusnak	Charlotte	48	61.9	73%	12	−1.2
97	Everett Scott	East Carolina	50	61.7	36%	32	−1.2
98	Collin Rogers	SMU	77	63.2	52%	33	−1.4
99	Gabriel Plascencia	San Diego State	51	58.9	45%	28	−1.4
100	Ethan Chang	Old Dominion	53	59.4	38%	33	−1.5
101	Carter Davis	Florida Atlantic	53	64.7	81%	9	−1.7
102	Parker Lewis	Arizona State	63	60.9	59%	26	−1.7
103	Emmet Kenney	Stanford	57	61.3	37%	36	−1.8
104	Blake Ford	North Texas	74	57.9	58%	31	−1.9
105	Jonathan Kim	Michigan State	53	60.8	57%	23	−1.9
106	Liam Gray	Coastal Carolina	71	61.8	56%	31	−2.0
107	Jace Gilbert	Iowa State	71	61.5	55%	31	−2.1
108	Daniel Sparks	Virginia	59	58.7	54%	27	−2.2
109	Noah Grant	UAB	65	60.8	51%	31	−2.6
110	Taren Schive	Boise State	51	58.4	41%	30	−2.7
111	Luke Drzewiecki	New Mexico	37	61.2	51%	18	−2.8
112	Alejandro Prado	Florida International	53	58.7	11%	47	−3.1
113	Caleb Carlson	Wake Forest	52	63.1	71%	15	−3.3
114	Jack Howes	Maryland	54	61.9	57%	23	−3.6
115	Elliott Nimrod	Utah State	64	58.9	48%	33	−3.7
116	Mateen Bhaghani	UCLA	51	61.8	47%	27	−3.9
117	Gianni Spetic	Ohio	73	60.8	41%	42	−3.9
118	Ben Freehill	Purdue	35	60.9	54%	16	−4.4
119	Buzz Flabiano	UTEP	34	62.1	50%	17	−4.7
120	Michael Hayes II	West Virginia	66	58.6	27%	48	−4.7
121	Zach Long	Bowling Green	67	60.2	54%	31	−4.9
122	Max Morgan	Liberty	54	60.6	50%	27	−5.0
123	Jesus Gomez	Eastern Michigan	60	61.5	58%	25	−5.6
124	Nico Gramatica	South Florida	60	61.0	47%	23	−5.8
125	Tristan Mattson	Central Michigan	38	58.0	63%	14	−6.2
126	Christian Pavon	Sam Houston	54	61.1	26%	40	−7.2
127	Abraham Montano	New Mexico State	48	60.1	56%	19	−7.8
128	Carson Holmer	Ball State	54	54.5	20%	43	−9.5
129	Laith Marjan	South Alabama	60	58.4	30%	42	−10.2
130	Grady Gross	Washington	60	58.1	28%	43	−10.4
131	Austin Bullock	Northern Illinois	61	57.5	31%	40	−10.6
132	Charles Steinkamp	New Mexico	31	56.8	32%	21	−11.7
133	CJ Kolodziey	Massachusetts	51	61.1	45%	28	−15.9

Points compare each kickoff's expected-points result with the league-average kickoff (for college, expected points come from where the receiving team started its first play). Onside kicks are listed separately and left out of points. Average distance is measured from the kicking spot to where the ball was caught or reached the goal line; a touchback counts the full distance. Returns exclude touchbacks, out-of-bounds kicks and fair catches. Minimum 30 kickoffs.

Kickoff Specialist Rankings in Other Seasons

2026 · 2025 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011

Other 2024 College Rankings

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